Central buffing and draw gear



Dec. 13, 1932. R. T. GLASCODINE CENTRAL BUFFING AND DRAW GEAR Filed Sept. 19. 1929 FIGS.

Patented Dec. 1 3 1932 UNITED STATES RICHARD THOMSON GLASCODINE, OF LONDON, ENGLAND CENTRAL BUFFING AND DRAW GEAR Application filed September 19, 1929, Serial No. 393,725, and in Great Britain May 14, 1929.

In some constructions of bufiing and draw gear for railway vehicles, a supplementary bufling spring is located in front of the end sill in position to be compressed by the 1nward movement of the coupler head when buffing. A very eflicient supplementary spring of this character consists of an india rubber spring surrounding the coupler head shank and arranged in a casing fixed in front of the vehicle end sill, the said spring being compressed upon inward movement of the coupler head by the back of the coupler head striking a compression plate that pro ects forwardly through the said casing. lVith an arrangement of this kind, the supplementary spring is compressed efiectively no matter what the angular position of the coupler head may be, if the back of the coupler head is formed with a striking face that extends all around the coupler head shank. As heretofore usually constructed, automatic car couplers are of uneven contour at the back of the coupler head, the striking face or faces with which they are provided merely consisting of flat portions which do not extend all around the shank.

The obj ect of this invention is to provide a member, hereinafter called an adapter,

1 whereby a coupler head of the usual pattern can be provided with a striking face of a character such as to be suitable for striking the compression plate of a supplementary spring of india rubber that surrounds the coupler head shank and is housed in a casing located in front of the end sill of the vehicle.

Such an adapter may be a casting, drop stamping, pressing, forging or the like, and consists of a block formed with a hole through which the shank of the coupling head can pass. One face of the block is of acontour such as to fit snugly against the rear of the coupling head and the other face constitutes the striking face which, through an appropriate compression plate, compresses the buffing spring at the outer side of the end sill.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 illustrates, in elevation, an exemplary type of coupler head involving the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevation of a coupler head fitted with an adapter.

Fig. 4 is plan view thereof.

Fig. 5 is a plan view, partly in section, showing the coupler associated with a bufling spring located on the front of the end sill.

As will be seen from the drawing the rear face 2 of the coupling head 1 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is so formed as to provide a surface 2 in a plane at right angles to the axis of the coupling head and constituting a striking face that extends around the coupling head shank 3. This striking face is adapted to bear upon the forwardly extending flange of a compression plate l, see Fig. 5, by means of which an india rubber buffing spring 6 located in a casing 7 in front of the vehicle end sill 8 is compressed upon inward movement of the coupling head 1.

As will be appreciated a striking face surrounding the coupling head shank in the way shown effects the movement of the compression plate 4 to compress the bufiing spring 6 in a far more satisfactory manner than is possible with a striking face located above the said shank only. The stresses are directly axial and the arrangement enables a bufling spring of adequate resistance to be 0 used at the exterior of the end sill.

A similar striking face can be provided on existing coupling heads by the provision of an adapter 9 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The front face of the adapter is shaped to suit the rear face of the coupling head 1, and the rear face of the adapter is a plain face that constitutes the striking face. As will be understood the adapter does not necessarily bear upon every part of the rear face of the coupling head but may be so formed as to bear upon those parts which are best adapted to resist the stresses that arise when the striking face functions to compress the bufling spring at the front of the end sill.

The adapter 9, which consists of a suit ably shaped metal block formed with a rectangular hole through which the coupling head shank 3 extends, is fixed as by screws or in any suitable manner to the coupling head or to the said shank or both.

What I claim is The combination with an end sill, of a casing secured thereto having a front opening surrounded by an inwardly projecting flange, a bufling spring in the casing, an open centered compression plate located between the spring and the flange of the casing and having a flange extending through the front of the casing, a coupler head having a shank extending through the compression plate, the casing and the end sill, and an adapter surrounding the shank, said adapter having a front face conforming to the rear face of the head and a rear face to engage the flange of the compression plate upon inward movement of the coupler head.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

RICHARD THOMSON GLASCODINE. 

